Jeffery Sachs is a man with a plan. He wrote the book “The End of Pover ty” which I am going to buy today on Amazon. He is also the director of the Earth Institute in Columbia University and is a special advisor to Kofi Anan. You can read his wikipedia entry. Incredibly, there is no wikipedia entry for Sachs, so I started a short one. I’ll have to send you to his organization instead.

Anyways, the reason I am talking about him is because I stumbled upon a website supporting Sachs for President of the United States. One of their resources is an awesome pdf calledA Simple Plan to Save the World. It was written for Esquire Magazine, by Sachs himself. It’s informative, clear, and slightly liberal. But most importantly it is optimistic.

This whole saving the world business can get you down. I’d be the first to tell you. But reading this article made me feel hopeful and motivated to make a change more than ever. So check it out.

Now that we’ve got your Purpose down in writing, put it away for a while. I wouldn’t call it your ultimate calling just yet. But just like writing a paper or a speech, it’s easier to edit once you’ve got something down.

There is only one thing I want you to do today, and that is read an essay by a well known American writer. His name is Ralph Waldo Emerson. You probably have heard of him. Well, he wrote a great essay called Self Reliance that should be mandatory reading for every American. (And international readers, I think this essay is just as important for you as well) Emerson talks about being true to yourself, and tells you why honesty is essential to life a real life.

I’ve got a link of Self Reliance translated by Adam Khan into modern English. Emerson wrote many years ago and the words he uses are often not commonly used today. It makes the writing a little harder to get into. But the modern English version solves the problem. It’s great. Read it, savor it, and think about it.http://www.youmeworks.com/self_reliance_translated.html

“At some level, we too, have to make an ultimate sacrifice to our callings. We need to devote everything, our whole selves. A part-time effort, a sorta-kinda commitment, an untested promise, won’t suffice. You must know that you mean business, that you’re going to jump into it up to your eye sockets and not turn back at the last minute.”

– Gregg Levoy
Today’s post is about purpose. What is your purpose in life? What were meant to do here. This is really the big question when it comes to finding yourself. Many people turn to religion for help. But often, the answer is “To serve God”. Well, how can you best do that? Is it just about getting as much money as possible? As much pleasure? Learning as much as possible? Being a good son/parent/sibling? A good citizen? Or something else entirely?

Why is purpose important? It gives meaning to your life. It gives you direction and discovering your true purpose is how you find fulfillment. For more on this, you can read “Why Does Purpose Matter?” Needless to say, most people understanding that discovering your purpose is important. (3 activities after the jump)

Ok, we’re getting to the crux of the challenge. We’ve looked at what we really want, and how we want to be remembered. This post is about guiding the journey. If our goals are our destination, than the kind of car we are taking is our values. Everyone has values, and each person’s values reveals a deep aspect of themselves. However, most people don’t stop to take stock on what their values really are. Which is the goal of this post

I often feel like my time passes quickly, especially when I am invovled a number of projects, and yet I am unable to account for the time spent. So I’m trying to make a list of things I have done or invovled myself in to help me remember.

Made a new friend: Rohini

Reinforced existing friendships: Supriya, Spencer, Ellora

Worked in a new profession: Telemarketing or “student liason” at The Stanford Fund

Organized and analyzed data for limb assymmetry for the Steinberg Lab

Started a blog

Read a bunch of books:
Stumbling onto Happiness
The Power of Now
Undercover Economist
Changing MInds
OVerachievement
Discover Your Genius
Harry Potter 5
The Art of Motorcycle Maintence
The Game

I watched two documentaries
An Inconvienient Truth
Who Killed the Electric Car?

I watched two movies:
Superman Returns
Pirates of the Carribean 2

I watched two romantic movies:
Before Sunrise
Before Sunset

I coached for JD’s gymnastics camp

I got a thumb ring and a fake leather bracelet

I studied more techniques behind The Game

I helped Steph and Rohini whistle a little better

I had to reorganize my computer because my hard drive crashed

I got the book nearly finished

I completed a GRE Biology practice exam (I’ll need to study before the test)

I am trying the Shangri-la Diet

I took a number of photographs – and experimented with High Dynamic Range photography

I visited San Francisco a number of times

I spoke with Carrie Arnel about using economics and pyschology to study motivations of Climate Change behavior

I got a list of Thom’s quotes in order to make a shirt

I bought some cool clothes at Old Navy

I cooked Chinese food for Nate, Alex, Sunny, and Bryant

I celebrated 1.5 years with Steph at Henry’s Steakhouse

We finished the photo album project

I organized this Identity building blog series

Well, that’s all I can think of right now, I’ll add to the list later.

About

Jason Shen

Jason is a PM at Etsy and a partner at Ship Your Side Project. He cofounded a Y Combinator startup called Ridejoy and served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow under President Obama. He holds two degrees from Stanford and set a Guinness World Record in Aztec Push-Ups. Learn more.

Get on the Inside

Never miss a post by subscribing to The Art of Ass-Kicking. Join 2500+ readers who like smart, interesting, and actionable writings on business, technology, and behavior change. I also write Insider's Notes that are exclusively shared with these readers.

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam.

Search

Loading

Disclaimers

Reading this blog is not entirely safe. At any time, you might encounter one or more of the following: